The Long Dark Night
In Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery, one of the books I read in childhood, the main character calls three in the morning “the white hour” when insomnia strikes with creative impulses that must be expressed. Emily’s white hours were not unique. Throughout literature and philosophy, the small hours of the morning are rife with sleeplessness and internal dialogue over questions about the nature of human experience.
These days I, too, find myself making a deep query of my soul and the universe when I should be resting in preparation for the next day’s work. 
Will I survive teething? How long can a woman go with so little sleep for so long? Why do babies cry so much louder, so much more inconsolably, at 3 a.m.? Why do teething gels and soothing homeopathic remedies from Europe work for about 15 minutes?
I’ve found that holding an ice cube and letting my baby suck on the edge, seems to help most with my baby’s pain in the gums and teething fever. The trouble is, few things wake me up more than a walk to the kitchen and freezing fingertips. The only remedies helping me get through the day are cups of coffee and glasses of ice water, quick fixes that help for fifteen minutes and then contribute to making overall anxiety, exhaustion and sleepless nights even worse.
What I have realised is that sometimes, we just can’t win. We have to throw all ideas about striking an ideal balance and healthy living out the window and just accept that there will be times that are difficult. Teething, is just like having a brand new baby all over again. Every day feels like it is about a million years long, but just like a growth spurt, colic or any other period of physical adjustment, there will be an opportunity to rest in a few days.
It really only feels like I haven’t slept in years.
Tags: baby-teething, surviving-teethingRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Baby Care
6 opinions for The Long Dark Night
SP
Sep 23, 2006 at 5:00 am
Oh, I definitely feel your pain lol… both of mine had major teething pain. I can remember keeping a supply of dampened face cloths in the freezer (much like your ice cube trick) and they would chew on the face cloth to sooth their gums. It worked, but there were times when I thought that I would never sleep through the night ever again. But those days do pass!
;)
kbaggott
Sep 23, 2006 at 5:13 am
Yes, they pass, but take away a mother’s sleep for a night and it feels like month!
Sarah
Sep 23, 2006 at 9:25 am
Something not quite so icy is cloves, the dried up little spice - oil of clove is a natural topical anesthetic and numbs the pain. The pediatrician thought it would be okay - but we are not there …yet!
Sarah
Sep 23, 2006 at 9:29 am
Here is a like on how to use it from wikipedia, FYI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_of_cloves
Babylune » More Silence on Sex and the New Mother
Oct 10, 2006 at 7:19 am
[…] So you know something Esther? The only thing that kept me up all night pre-parenthood was sex. And, the last thing I felt afterward was not stress. In fact, I could get through the work day feeling really feminine and crash into my soft pillow the moment I get home. The entire night was mine to sleep through. The night is not mine anymore. Sex was once a lovely distraction from work-stress which no longer even enters my stress radar. In fact, I now leave home to experience work-stress every day because it is so much more relaxing than housewife and stay at home mother stress. And, as for being tired! I had no idea what tiredness was before I became a parent. […]
Babylune » Today’s Blog Entry
Oct 13, 2006 at 12:54 pm
[…] Today’s blog entry has been suspended by teething. […]
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